Distance learning refers to an educational system wherein students can access course materials from remote locations. Virtually all distance learning systems involve some type of classroom delivery technique. By way of example, prior art systems include such approaches as mail order courses, remotely broadcast lectures, video-taped courses, video conferencing and internet-based on-line courses. One deficiency of these prior approaches is that they require students to progress sequentially through the course material. In other words, students participating in a class from remote locations are not able to select the order in which course materials are presented. Another drawback of prior systems is that they require instructors to present materials in a predefined fixed format.
Additionally, some courses include a laboratory component as an important part of the curriculum. Traditionally, laboratory courses require students to perform experiments, acquire data from the experiments and analyze the acquired data. Prior art approaches address laboratory components in a variety of ways. By way of example, one prior art approach provides remotely located students with laboratory kits, so that they can perform requisite experiments at their respective remote sites. Although, laboratory kits provide a way of performing some relatively elementary experiments, they suffer from significant drawbacks. One such drawback is that kits can be expensive to fabricate and ship; especially where a multitude of students and experiments are involved. Another drawback is that advanced experiments may require expensive analysis equipment. Cost prohibits such equipment from being included in a kit, and some remotely located students may not have access to laboratories possessing the necessary equipment.
Another prior approach employs laboratory simulation software. Laboratory simulation software attempts to replicate experiments, and provides the type of data that a student might acquire from an actual experiment. An advantage of simulation software is that it is relatively inexpensive, as compared with laboratory kits. However, a drawback of simulation software is that the experience provided to a student is only as good or complete as the software employed. Additionally, no matter how complete the simulation, students nevertheless do not experience the full spectrum of nuances that typically occur in a genuine laboratory environment.
On occasion, scientists who are remotely located with respect to each other desire to take part in joint experiments. Those scientists experience challenges similar to those experienced by remotely located students. As in the case of students, prior systems fail to enable a plurality of remotely located scientists to collect, analyze and effect experimental data in real-time with respect to the conduct of the experiment. Typically, laboratory kits are not sophisticated enough to address these and like needs of scientists, and simulations do not provide actual data for the specific experiment of interest.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a computer system that enables persons, remotely located with respect to each other, to engage in joint laboratory experiments.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a computer system that enables persons, remotely located with respect to a laboratory, to engage in joint laboratory experiments.
A further object of the invention is to provide a computer system that enables students to learn in a self-directed manner with respect to other students participating in a particular course of study.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a computer system that enables instructors to draw from a library of course materials and tailor the presentation of those materials.
Another object of the invention is to provide a computer system that enables students, remotely located with respect to each other, to have a more realistic laboratory experience.
A further object of the invention is to provide a computer system that enables people to acquire data in real-time from experiments performed in a laboratory remotely located from them.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent in the following description of the invention.